High-touch travel with private access, premium stays, and special logistics.
Luxury Train Journeys at Taro Voyages is a rail travel service covering historic and scenic train routes across India, Europe, Africa, and Japan, including palace and mountain itineraries.
There is a rhythm to train travel that no other mode can replicate. The slow rocking, the changing landscapes framed like moving paintings in your window, the ability to walk to the dining car for a glass of wine at your own pace — it is travel that breathes. That particular quality of afternoon light falling across the Thar Desert as the Maharajas' Express glides through it. The moment the Rocky Mountaineer rounds a bend and the Rockies appear, snow-capped and impossible, filling your glass dome with 270° of mountain. These are experiences that no airport, no freeway, no rush can manufacture.
Luxury train journeys are among the world's most coveted travel experiences precisely because they are unhurried. The Maharajas' Express passes through Rajasthan's palaces and deserts at the speed of a different century. The Orient Express crosses Europe through cities that would take weeks to visit by any other means — but does so with the grace of a lost era of travel that most of the world has forgotten.
We have arranged luxury rail journeys for over a decade — from the iconic Palace on Wheels and Golden Chariot through India, to the Rocky Mountaineer through Canada's snow-capped peaks, the Rovos Rail through southern Africa's wilderness, the Belmond Grand Hibernian through Ireland's green valleys, and the Bernina Express through the highest railway in the Alps.
Every booking includes expert advice on the best cabin choices for your group size, the optimal journey direction (some routes are more spectacular in one direction than the other), the most scenic season and time of year, and the onboard and off-train excursions that make each journey complete rather than merely comfortable.
A luxury train is also one of the finest ways to see India — and we say this not as a marketing claim, but as a fact of geography. The Maharajas' Express covers Agra, Ranthambore, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, and Varanasi in eight days with a single hotel: your suite. No repacking, no airport queues, no transit anxiety — just waking up in a new royal city each morning to find your excursion awaiting.
These trains book out 12–18 months in advance for peak season departures. If a luxury train journey is on your radar, the moment to plan is now — and we are ready to advise the moment you reach out.
A luxury train is the last place in the world where you are allowed — encouraged — to have nowhere to be.
The Maharajas' Express is a luxury tourist train owned and operated by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, serving four routes across northwestern and central India that are mainly centred on Rajasthan and run between October and April each year.
The Rocky Mountaineer is a Canadian rail-tour service owned by the Great Canadian Railtour Company and based in Vancouver, British Columbia, operating luxury scenic trains on three routes across British Columbia and Alberta; a US affiliate, American Rocky Mountaineer, operates a fourth route across Colorado and Utah.
The Glacier Express runs as a Panorama Express directly connecting the Swiss mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz via Andermatt in the central Alps, covering the 291-kilometre journey in a single eight-hour seating without the stops made by local trains. It has been nicknamed the 'slowest express train in the world', and because Zermatt and St. Moritz sit near the Matterhorn and Piz Bernina respectively, the route is also described as travelling from one peak to the other.
Text adapted from the linked articles under CC BY-SA 4.0; edited for length.
What Luxury Train Journeys actually plans and arranges.
India's most celebrated luxury train. 7 nights through Rajasthan, Agra, and Varanasi in Presidential and Junior Suites with butler service, multi-cuisine fine dining, and royal cultural excursions at every stop. India's single most awarded travel experience.
Rajasthan's legendary royal train. 7 nights visiting 10 royal cities — Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, and beyond. Named for the personal railway carriages of maharajas, each coach decorated with a different state's princely heritage.
Paris to Istanbul through Venice and Innsbruck. Art Deco cabins, white-glove dining, and the romance of a century of travellers who came before you. No train in the world carries more stories. No train offers more mystique.
Two extraordinary days through the Canadian Rockies in GoldLeaf class glass-dome carriages. Banff and Jasper framed in 270° panoramic views. Moose, bear, and bald eagles visible from your seat. Fine dining included.
Cape Town to Dar es Salaam through Kruger National Park and the Zimbabwean bush. The most luxurious train on earth by most measures — a moving five-star hotel with observatory car, en-suite baths, and suites with private verandahs.
Belmond's Irish luxury train: Dublin across loughs, mountains, and villages that look precisely as Ireland should. Afternoon teas, whiskey tastings, and local musicians joining the train at select stations.
Karnataka's luxury train: Mysore, Hampi, Badami, Goa, and Kerala in one seamless week through India's most architecturally diverse south. The only way to see all of this in 7 days without a single unpacking session.
Europe's deliberately slowest express — 8 hours from Zermatt to St Moritz through 91 tunnels and 291 bridges. Every window is a framed masterpiece of Alpine Switzerland. Served at your seat: a three-course Swiss lunch with Valais wine.
The highest railway crossing in the Alps — from Chur or Davos down through Tirano, Italy. A UNESCO World Heritage rail journey through viaducts, glaciers, and pine forests. The Landwasser Viaduct alone justifies the ticket.
Kyushu's extraordinary luxury cruise train — 4 days circling Japan's southernmost main island in private suites with Japanese cuisine and onsen access at every stop. Limited to 30 passengers. The world's most exclusive train journey.
Maharashtra and Goa by luxury train — Ajanta Ellora caves, Aurangabad, Nashik's vineyards, and Goa's beaches in seven nights. A less-known alternative to Rajasthan's trains that rewards those who explore India beyond the Golden Triangle.
The Indian Pacific and The Ghan — Australia's two great transcontinental rail journeys. Sydney to Perth across the Nullarbor Plain, or Adelaide to Darwin through the Red Centre. A continent experienced at precisely the right pace.
Every service starts with a human brief and turns into a confirmed scope only after the route, inclusions, and budget band make sense.
Share traveller profile, dates, budget comfort, non-negotiables, and any safety or logistics constraints.
Taro shortlists the right destinations, stays, experiences, routing, and supplier options for this service.
The team refines inclusions, exclusions, quote basis, documents, payment milestones, and cancellation terms.
Travel support stays attached through the journey, with coordination for changes, local assistance, and follow-ups.
For those who value the finest level of Indian hospitality combined with seeing Rajasthan's greatest destinations without planning a single logistical detail — yes, unreservedly. Eight cities, eight nights, one hotel (your suite), every meal prepared onboard, every excursion arranged. It is India's most awarded travel experience and the only way to do Rajasthan for those who refuse to compromise on comfort.
Most luxury trains are all-inclusive: all meals onboard (full breakfast, multi-course lunch, fine dinner), all excursions at every stop, onboard entertainment, and most beverages (alcoholic beverages may be charged separately on some trains). We provide a precise inclusions list for every train in our portfolio — no surprises.
Absolutely — and most clients do. Before the Maharajas' Express, we arrange Delhi hotel nights and a Golden Triangle preview. After, we continue to Kerala or Varanasi. The train journey becomes the centrepiece of a 12–15 day India experience. We handle every element before and after as seamlessly as the train itself.
They are among the finest options for senior travel specifically. The journey is inherently slow-paced. All meals are delivered to the dining car, steps from your cabin. Excursions are optional. The absence of daily repacking, airport queues, and transit logistics is enormously valuable for older travellers. We advise on the most accessible trains and cabin configurations for each physical need.
The Maharajas' Express peak-season Presidential Suites (October–March) sell out 12–18 months ahead. Orient Express historic cabins for the classic Paris-Venice route go 18 months ahead for summer. Seven Stars in Japan: 2 years for some departures. For Palace on Wheels and Golden Chariot, 6–9 months ahead gives good suite choices. Our strong advice: if you have a target year, enquire now.
The Maharajas' Express is newer (2010) and considered the more luxurious of the two — wider suites, higher thread-count linens, more immersive excursions, and a more exclusive guest count (88 passengers maximum). The Palace on Wheels is older (1982), more storied, covers 10 cities in 7 nights, and carries a sense of genuine royal heritage. Both are extraordinary — the choice often depends on budget and depth vs. breadth preference.
Yes, though a single-supplement typically applies (the second bunk goes unused). On some trains, single occupancy is priced at approximately 75% of the twin rate rather than the full 100% — we advise on which trains offer the most favourable solo pricing. Solo travellers often find luxury train journeys among the most socially rewarding travel formats, given the dining-car culture.
Luxury trains carry onboard medical kits and, on the longer journeys (Rovos Rail, Maharajas' Express), a medical professional or trained first-responder. In the event of a medical situation requiring ground care, trains stop at the nearest appropriate station and we coordinate hospital access and insurance claims in real time. Your train journey has a support team — you are never alone.
All excursions are optional on every luxury train we book. Some travellers prefer to use certain shore-days resting in their suite, reading in the lounge car, or simply watching the departure platform from a comfortable chair. This is entirely your prerogative. The train will always have staff and lounge facilities available for those who choose to remain.
Absolutely — and this is a wonderful way to build a trip. Many clients do the Maharajas' Express followed by a Kerala beach extension, then fly to Maldives or Bali. Or Palace on Wheels through Rajasthan, then continue overland to Nepal. We design the complete journey as one seamless booking.
Most luxury trains offer limited or no in-cabin WiFi. The Maharajas' Express and Orient Express have minimal connectivity as a deliberate design choice — these are digital retreat experiences as much as rail journeys. The Glacier Express and Rocky Mountaineer pass through areas of limited signal. We brief you on this before departure so you can make arrangements with family and work in advance.
Luxury trains typically require smart casual for daytime excursions, smart-formal for dinner service, and black-tie or cocktail attire for gala evenings (Maharajas' Express has 2 gala evenings per 7-night journey). We send a detailed packing guide with every booking including weather considerations, luggage size limits per train, and specific dress requirements.
This is one of the most treasured gifts we arrange — particularly Maharajas' Express or Palace on Wheels for parents' anniversaries or milestone birthdays. We handle gift voucher arrangements, coordinate surprise reveals, and ensure the onboard team knows it is a special occasion. We have arranged proposals, anniversary dinners, and family reunion journeys on these trains.
Send dates, travellers, preferred style, and the level of support you need. The team will return with a practical route and quote basis before any booking step.